Anime: Gekijouban Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Shambala o Yuku Mono 105d69

This is a wonderful movie based off of that fun-filled television series, but it can get boring really easily.

Animation

The animation is completely changed (as much as other anime movies) which makes the animation seem like a huge disappointment in spite of all animated movies based off of television series does (or at least most of them). But for it's complete change, it's not too bad in fact, it's beautiful.

Sound

I always thought the sound for both the English Dub and the sub were huge disappointments. If you don't get what I mean, I mean that they were unfitting for some of the characters like Edward Elric. Didn't pay much attention to whatshisface with the blue coat, but Ed always seemed to have an unfitting voice for some reason.

Characters

I have nothing to say about them since I haven't seen the show, but I'd say Alphonose is cute, Edward's funny and whatshiface's sadistic;)

Value

I used to love this movie so damn much it was my favorite movie ever, but after I watched it for the second time, it got boring. But I could tell how great this movie was and how attached I was to it and didn't want it to end (as much as the other movies I watched).

Enjoyment

I just enjoyed this movie so freaking much, but it got boring afterwards.

Undoubtedly, Fullmetal Alchemist has written a pretty page of anime history while the series was aired in 2004. But even a great anime such as FMA had its flaws, perhaps the greatest of them being the ending which is inconclusive to say the least. The promise of a continuation to the original story and an ending that would truly be something to , had me giving great hopes to this film, ever since it was announced back in Dec 2004 (I think).

Set two year post the original story, in the other world, Conqueror of Shambala walks on fine grounds with its action placed on the eve of the Nazi coup d’etat in . The story takes quite a number of liberties with the historic facts but let’s face it: Nazism has been linked with occult forces before and this is an anime; what finer combination may one wish for?
Following up on Ed’s ing into our world and his search for a way to return home, the film also focuses quite a bit on his younger brother, now out of the armor. Adventures are a bundle and everything builds up to the climax that is the ending, certainly better than the one the series offered us, but still far from pleasing.

This is a film that would’ve done better if only it were longer. It tries to bring together too many story elements, but it fails in binding them together since it doesn’t have time to develop them unfortunately. It’s a problem that plagues all anime films that come to complement a series and I didn’t have any illusions that this would somehow be any different.

Animation
The film plays on a set of the original anime’s strengths, developing some or leaving others unchanged.

The animation is one such strength that is left mostly unchanged. Still, we are treated with an exceptionally detailed world, fantastic character designs and an overall sense of fluidity that have made FMA into one of the best looking anime of recent years. These entire elements look crisper than ever in the film, added a darker tone to the colors and a lot more CGI than before.

ittedly, I despise CGI like nothing else and this is not one of the rare exceptions. The computer generated graphics do not blend in well for the trained eye and, for someone such as myself, may become tiresome. But that’s doesn’t mean that what we’re offered can in any way be described as being “ugly” because it’s not.

Sound
The sound, for an anime, is a saving or destroying grace. Not only is music important for a wonderful feeling to the anime, but so are the voices so that the characters’ reactions may seem believable.

Does CoS receive a saving grace from the sound sector?

Indeed it does since everything is very well chosen to accommodate the feel of the anime. Music befits the scenes and the scenery for that matter; from purely orchestral tunes, to vocal ones, the music is nothing short of perfect for the film.
And neither are the voices.

Everything said short and simple: the sound is wonderful.

Story
An anime film, based on a series, will do one, or maybe two of several things:
1. will complement the series’ story with an ending or a prequel (ex: End of Evangelion);
2. will simply show a retelling of the story, either by summarizing it or by offering a different perspective on it (ex: Escaflowne – A girl in Gaea, X:1999);
3. will be simply made to bring the characters out of the closet once again for the fans (ex: almost all DBZ films);

I have yet to see a film made after/before a series that would not fall into such classification. CoS is 2/3 number one and 1/3 number three.
The film’s main intent is to devise a story that would prove to be a natural continuation and ending for the series’ story. In most aspects, it does this very well, leaving very few things without a proper end or u plot-devices that simply have no use. As such, the story we’re offered seems neither forced, nor overly prolonged but just a bit incomplete as to how many explanations we’re given.

And that leads us to that 1/3 of the film that’s still left.
The producers tried to show us the lives of some characters post-FMA ending and just bring back some of the ones that ed away in the series as side characters born in the other world. I find this to be quite cheap on the producers’ part, just a fan-service with no proper meaning except for some comedic moments.
This is where the lack of explanations comes into place. Most characters brought on screen have very vague motifs for what they do, and plot twists aren’t often the most fortunate choices since most of them are quite predictable judging on the way the story is told.

But, leaving that aside, what is it really that which we have to deal with?

It’s quite simple really: it’s Ed’s attempt at returning home and the help of others for him; all these into a reconstruction of the Nazi coup d’etat in ; a historical moment with which the anime takes a great number of liberties. But such liberties are for an anime to take and for us to smile upon, especially for those that are quite familiar with the German history of the pre-WW II time. It’s a story that has too little time to develop itself and I call that to be a shame.

Character
The characters that are brought to us, all except Ed, Noa and Al, are pale to say the least. Few motifs, few truly great moments concerning them and most of all, the spark they had in FMA, is dead here.

Some characters must not be brought back to life in a new role because they’re instantaneously doomed because of past experience with them.
So, all these being said, one must wonder why wasn’t the ing cast of the series left aside, not for the entire film, but at least for the moments that had no greater meaning to the whole.

Other than that, Ed and Al worked again in the film’s favor because…simply because they’re Ed and Al. Funny moments, serious moments, depth of character, they’ve got it all and they’re flashing it at us unmercifully. My only gripe is the fact that Ed’s obsession with his size is long since dead. No more comedy based on that unfortunately.

And Noa…a decent character with quite an outstanding personality; she’s the female character I wish for in such films, strong yet flawed. I can’t say I didn’t like her, even if she wasn’t developed to an extent in which I could say I knew her.

Value
Overall, this is a good film that knows how to play on its predecessor’s virtues so as to become something great. But not alone, only with the backing of the series. Alone, the film has only high production values to deal to the viewer and a lot of questions. As I’ve said, the film comes in just to complement the series and that’s why I’ve judged it only in parallel with that.

Conqueror of Shambala is one of the very few series based anime films that I can say I appreciated. It offers a much better “ending” to the story of the Fullmetal Alchemist and it is an overall entertaining experience.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shambala ties up all the loose ends of the series.....and then unties them again.

The animation was good, better than even the series. Fluid action scenes and and good use of color characterize the series and this movie itself.

The sound, as to be expected of FMA, was good, though some of the more familiar songs from the series are missing. The voice actors performed well, and the background noises were all realistic sounding.

The story was great for the first 3/4s of the movie, until Ed seperates the wing from the plane, and then it goes downhill. Just when you think all the loose ends will be tied up from the series, the movie takes a complete u-turn and leaves you with another hanging ending. Also, much of the background of the Thule Society (such as, how did they capture the "great snake" in the first place?) and their motivations goes unexplained or is extremely simplified.

The characters were ok; the bizarro-Hughes, bizarro-Alphonse, and bizzaro-Rose, and bizarro-Fuhrer weren't fleshed out very well, and it was hard to feel much for them (especially Hughes, who was a bit overused). However, Ed, Al, and Wrath were all well done, especially Wrath.

If you loved FMA, you will probably want to watch this movie; although it doesn't replicate exactly the feel of the series, it comes pretty close, and it satisfies some of the need for more FMA. I can only hope there will be another sequel to this movie soon.

Well, it's not as good as the FMA series, but it's great in it's own right.

Now, for all you english speaking people out there, WATCH THE DUB! That is unless of course you are a weeaboo fag who doesn't like the amazing dub because it's not a word-for-word translation.

Anyways.

Animation
Now, the animation AND artwork are amazing. Everything runs at a much higher frame rate than the show, which is expected. However, the backgrounds are what took my breath away. My mom mistook it for real footage it was so good.

Sound
While not exquisite, everything was perfect for the mood. Expect a brand new score for the movie. Also, the opening theme song is perhaps the best one I've ever heard.

Story
Well, when I first watched it in Japanese, I was downright confused about a lot of things, particularly all the stupid actions taken by the characters. But, the dub cleared that right up. The story is simple at it's base, but is still played out well. Expect Nazis.

Character
Now, this is the weak point. While not necessarily bad, there was very little character development outside of Alphonse (both) and Ed. I enjoyed seeing various Amestris character's in their Aryan form, it made a good game attempting to find them.

Enjoyment
As I said, english speakers should avoid the sub. It has superior voice acting, and it makes the story much clearer than even the best sub would. Now, as a dub, it was very enjoyable, it had the FMA awesome quality to it that we all love. It has it's faults, but it's great overall. I wish there would be a second movie in the future one day.

Being that I loved the series, I could not wait to see this movie. I just finally watched it tonight with my girlfriend (who also loved the series). Let me start off by saying that this movie was terrible. It is a complete 180 from the show.

Animation - 7
I really couldn't get into the drab colours that were used in the movie. The show had nice vibrant colours, where as this movie had dull and depressing colours.

Sound - 8
The music was done fairly well

Story - 1
This story was absolutely crap. It takes place in when Hilter is planning his first take over (the one that didn't work), or so it seemed that way. The main theme of the movie was rockets. I don't understand why as they played only a small part. The fighting in the movie just sucked too. Also in our world, Al is a Nazi, as is Maes.

Character - 5
The characters were good, at least the ones from the original series. Their counterparts in our world are just terrible.

Value - 1
I am going to pretend that this movie does not exist!

Enjoyment - 4
Majour Armstrong was still funny, though he was a little less flamboyant. He does make a few armstrong transmutations though.

All in all, this movie was terrible. I absolutely hated it and I see why it got a terrible review when it first came out. If the rumours are true and they make another movie, they should just pretend that this one doesnt exist and make something good.

The direct sequel to the 2003 series. (Not to be confused with the series remake "Brotherhood" from 2009.)

Please be advised to read my review for the 2003 series. It covers more detail on Fullmetal Alchemist in general, which I thought would be pointless to repeat here.

Visuals:
I've got to say, the visuals in the movie are excellent. They have suitably taken a step up from the series, and are presented in a more polished manner. The fluidity of animation is awesome, and there are some scenes of epic grandeur where the action heats up. The style is familiar and the 3D work is superb. So what are the flaws? There are two minor issues: for starters, the cinematic feel expected from a movie was not there for me as much as it perhaps should have been. It still felt like I was watching a long episode of the series at times. The other issue is the colour saturation - a lot of the movie seemed very grey-toned, with not as much vibrancy in the colours. Overall however, the visuals are a treat.

Sound:
The sound was another aspect that was suitably of high quality following the series. A lot of the musical scores were variations from the series (a good thing), and the voice acting once again did not disappoint. I had a minor issue with some of the sound editing however, where at times when I'd expect a lot of background sound effects, there was oddly quiet instead - presumably so that the characters could communicate with the viewer's full attention - but I found it very noticeable to the point of distraction.

Story:
The most controversial aspect of the movie - the story. To be honest, I had no idea WHAT to expect from the movie. After watching the series - which had a tremendously intriguing plot - the movie seems about average (5/10 is half way to the maximum - so in this case 'average'). The movie is the direct continuation from the last episode, but set about 2 years after it. It's difficult to explain the premise of the plot, since to be honest, it's more of a long episode of the series.

Understandably, the depth of the series was never going to be replicated into the movie, but my main gripe with the movie is that the plot which it chooses just doesn't seem to be well established during the course of the movie, with a lack of explanation surrounding the necessary details. For one thing I was confused as to why one of the protaginists couldn't use alchemy in areas where others, it seemed, could. Too much of the story feels rushed even though the general premise of the events are extremely good and would have been more fun to watch if they had been expanded. The ending of the movie is another issue I have with it - just when I thought the movie would rid me of that 'incomplete' feeling left by the end of the series, I now once again feel the plot was 'incomplete' after the movie. And to add insult to injury, the story had frustrating plot holes, especially in the closing scenes. HOWEVER, I was impressed at some of the shockingly dark scenes which cropped up unexpectedly during the course of the movie, and they reminded me of the maturer themes that the series had built upon.

Characters:
The characters do not present themselves as strongly as they did in the series. This is probably to be expected, given the duration of the movie, but it still feels too noticeable. The majority of the cast from the series only appear in the movie for the briefest amount of time, and some only for one or two seconds. However, I see this as a good thing since it was too unrealistic to think that the whole of the original cast could adequately be given screen time. Cameos of the non-living of the series appear as random faces of the people in strategic moments, and I found it pleasant enough to spot them. Whilst the remaining living characters of the series are essentially their same familiar selves, some of their relationships appear a bit too toned down. The film takes place 2 years after the series ended, and some of the characters have not seen each other for that whole time period; yet when they reunite it feels like a bit of an anticlimax.

Value
The replay value of the movie goes hand in hand with the series - I would simply watch it over again the next time I went through the series. It seems to be the logical thing to do, as the movie starts where the series ends.

Enjoyment:
Whilst not quite the sequel I was hoping for, the movie still provides that magic and dark intrigue which the series began. Some of the action sequences are truly breathtaking to behold, and the movie moves along at a good pace. I was disappointed with the conclusion of the movie however, and would be the first in line to watch a sequel if ever it was made. Here's hoping so.